The Most Consequential Elections in History: Andrew Jackson and the Election of 1828

The 1828 presidential election was one of the pivotal presidential elections in the history of the United States. In 1824 the alliance between John Quincy Adams and Henry Clay, who had both been presidential candidates, resulted in Andrew Jackson losing the 1824 presidential election. Jackson supporters came to term this alliance as a “corrupt bargain.” This led directly to the highly contested and dirty political campaign of the 1828 elections. It set the precedent for negative political campaigns that came in later years.

Andrew Jackson favored the “common person” over the elite and powerful. This democratic theme has been adopted in many campaigns over time, a theme that was echoed during Barack Obama’s presidential bid in 2008. Jackson, candidate for the National Republican Party, was elected the 7th president of the U.S. in 1828. He won 59.5% of the popular vote and an electoral majority of 178, defeating Adams, of the Democratic Party.